Eagles say it’s now or never

Ateneo expects a strong La Salle comeback but the Eagles have their own agenda, which could lead to a wild party at the Big Dome with one more mistake by the Archers.

A win away from its first title in 14 years, Ateneo goes for it tonight with the Eagles hoping to ride the momentum of their 72-70 decision Thursday to finish off the suddenly- beleaguered Archers and make the UAAP hoopdom their very own nest this season.

Game Two of the Ateneo-La Salle best-of-three title playoff is set at 4:15 p.m. with students, alumni and diehard followers of the two schools once again expected to fill the Araneta Coliseum to the rafters.

"Winning the first game is not yet the series. We need two games to win it," said Ateneo coach Joel Banal. "We can’t be too confident against them because we know La Salle has been in this kind of situation before and we expect them to bounce back strong."

Taking the series opener on sheer heart Thursday, Ateneo is now a victory away from ending a long title drought since it won the last of its two UAAP crowns in 1988. And if ever, nothing would be sweeter if the Eagles nail the championship at the expense of the Archers – their long-time rivals who’ve been reigning in the league in the last four years.

Banal emphasized Game Two is vital, saying they couldn’t afford to lose it or they would find their back against the wall in the deciding Game Three.

"We need to go all out for a Game Two victory because we would not want to play La Salle in a Game Three," said Banal.

For the Archers, the only way to salvage a fifth straight title and a run at the league record seven successive championships by the University of the East Warriors in the 60s is to make it two in a row.

"There are still two games to win the championship," said La Salle coach Franz Pumaren.

"We’re used to pressure and this kind of situation is not alien to us. We’re still confident we can come back and maybe win us a fifth title," he added.

But Pumaren may need to find a solution against Enrico Villanueva and Larry Fonacier if they were to force a rubbermatch in the short series.

Villanueva, who is expected to bag his first ever MVP award after getting disqualified the last two years, was Ateneo’s main source of inside strength in Game One, erupting for 19 points including the Eagles’ final 10 markers while Fonacier emerged as the team’s pillar on defense with two crucial blocks on Mark Cardona in the final 9.2 seconds.

Probably, Pumaren must also take some of the offensive burden from the prolific duo of Mike Cortez and Cardona as the Archers have become too predictable they would, more often than not, go to the two Fil-Am players at crunch time.

No thanks to Andrew Cruz, the Archers didn’t find Cortez open in the closing seconds in Game One on the leech-like guarding by the second-string Ateneo guard.

And, of course, La Salle must execute well.

"I keep on saying this but I know that if we’re going to win this series we need to execute well and stick to our plan," said Pumaren.

Meanwhile, coach Lito Vergara and his University of the Philippines Preps are bracing for a date with history as they gun for their first ever UAAP juniors cage title versus the Ateneo Eaglets at 2 p.m.

Relying on Jacob Manlapaz, Marvin Cruz and a choking defense in the final three and a half minutes, the Preps stunned the Eaglets, 72-67, in Game One.

The Adamson Lady Falcons also go for the women’s jugular versus the FEU Lady Tams at 12 noon. Adamson toppled FEU, 72-64 Thursday.